Shift in KK

……being a doctor working in Malaysia, as a government
SERVANT is another thing all together. I have made 2 different drafts of this
post. I have tried my best not to be too critical of my PAYMASTER. Of course,
some people will go around saying;

Ek eleh, syukur je la
ada kerja. Orang dah bayar gaji tu buat je.

Yes, I am very grateful I have a job. I am able to live a
rather comfortable life. Unfortunately, I don’t work in some office where I

punch in at 8 am

go out and have
breakfast until 9 am

break at 1030am

decide where to have lunch at 12 pm over a cup of coffee

go out for lunch at
1250 pm and return to work at 230pm

tea at 430pm and line up at the punch card machine at 450pm

Heck, if I punch in at 8 am sharp, I’ll get a complaint from
patients because I am supposed to start attending to patients at 8 am, not 8 am
baru nak datang! (which is fair
enough since I am supposed to start ting
tong-ing my bell at 8 am)

The reason for my frustration is the sudden decision to
start shift system in government clinics. Let’s review the past decisions of HE
WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED.

Problem:
Not enough doctors in Malaysia

Solution:
Get more private colleges to offer Medical degrees

Outcome:
Too many sub standard doctors. Too many housemen.

Problem: Too
many colleges offering medicine

Solution:
Stop issuing licenses to new colleges

Outcome:
Still a lot of colleges offering medicine I tell you!

Problem: Housemen
not given enough training

Solution:
Extend housemanship to 2 years

Outcome:
Too many housemen in hospitals

Problem: Housemen
are overworked

Solution:
Shift system

Outcome:
Substandard medical officers

Is there a trend here? Is everything AWESOME? Each problem
was given a short term solution. After some mumbo
jambo grand solution is announced another problem crops up months later.

Now, please fill in the blank

Problem: Overcrowded
and abuse of emergency departments

Solution: Get
staff in local clinics to work shift

Outcome:
____________________________

Shouldn't we instead educate the public on what is an
emergency and what is not? The Star did a wonderful job of highlighting the
trouble with ED. But surat khabar
terlaris di Malaysia bukanlah The Star but a newspaper which features Lima remaja terlampau di Hari Kekasih as
front page news.

It is not that I am malas
to work shifts but are we ready for it? If we don’t have the capacity for
it, don’t do it. If there are only 4 MOs, 3 nurses and 3 MAs in a clinic, can
it be done? If the nebulizer machine keeps on breaking down with no funds to
fix or replace it are we ready? We can’t just dish out short term policies all
the time.

As a Malaysian citizen, I am worried about where our
healthcare is heading to. If there are no long term plans and solutions, our
healthcare system may crumble. More bright minds will migrate elsewhere out of
frustration. Unless the minist....oops, HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED consider
medical staff as assets instead of expendables (not the Arnold Swarzer-susah nak eja type) people will just leave
when they get a chance to.

Just a thought, Sir HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED

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I'm MOfrust. Medical doctor, blogger and author. I blog about life as a doctor in a very Malaysian way. I express myself in Bahasa Melayu, English and the all so tasty rojak language. You don't have to be in the medical field to enjoy my musings.